Mum left disabled and can't have sex after disgraced surgeon botched operation

08 January 2024 , 08:15

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Mo Bell with her husband Martin (Image: Alan Richardson Pix-AR.co.uk)

A mum has been left permanently disabled and can no longer have sex after a disgraced surgeon botched her back operation.

Mo Bell, 57, was one of dozens of victims operated on by Sam Eljamel. He was head of neurosurgery at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee until December 2013, when he was suspended. He harmed dozens of patients at NHS Tayside and a public inquiry is now due to be held, the Scottish government has confirmed.

Mo from Dundee is one of them and has been left worse off by the dodgy doctor, now suffering problems going to the toilet and can no longer have sex with her husband because of her pain and suffering. She wants the inquiry in Eljamel’s reign of terror to begin this year.

Speaking to the Daily Record, she has told of how her troubles began following Eljamel performing a discectomy on her lower back in 2008. She said: "I had been having a little niggle in my back for a while. At the start of January 2008, I woke up and had a pain in my legs. As the day went on, I wasn't able to go to the toilet.

"I went to out of hours. I didn't know I wasn't able to feel one of my feet until the nurse put a pin in it. She sent me straight up to neurology that night. That night, Eljamel came in and explained what he was going to do the next morning, that my disc had slipped and it was leaning on my nerves.

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Mo had no idea that the operation would end up causing more ­problems than it solved. She said: "The next morning, he gave me the operation. I came round, he got me out of bed straight away, which I thought was a bit funny.

"He then had me up getting physio and the next day he sent me home. I went in on January 2 and was out by January 4. But when I went home, I still wasn't able to go to the toilet either way. He also declined to tell me what he had done had caused cauda equina syndrome [a condition that affects the spine]."

Disgraced surgeon Sam Eljamel who was eventually suspended in 2013 (Daily Record)

But, even though CES was in her medical notes following her operation, Mo didn't learn she had it until three or four years later when she went in for an unrelated minor operation. She said: "The nurses told me I had it, it was on my medical records. After the operation, there was a lot of toing and froing back to the hospital because I was still not able to go to the toilet.

"Eljamel wouldn't have me back in neurology, so I had to go to a general ward and they didn't know what was going on because they didn't have the notes. I was on that ward for about a week and they didn't know what was happening either. It took years to get it all sorted out. But now I know he damaged the nerves when he was removing the disc. I am now numb down my right hand side. I struggle to walk."

"What he did to me left me disabled but I only recently realised, after reading about other cases in the papers and getting my notes, that it was down to his negligence. He never told me. He never told anyone."

Mo has called for the inquiry to take place this year, to prevent any further delays (Alan Richardson Pix-AR.co.uk)

Jules Rose, another victim of surgeon Professor Sam Eljamel who is now leading the campaign calling for a full government inquiry (Daily Record)

Mo never complained when she found out because she was dealing with serious family health issues at the time but she said: "When things started appearing in the papers, it brought it all back. I have never received an apology. I think it is absolutely terrible he was allowed to operate for so long. It was as if he was God up there. Everybody thought he was great. My operation was in 2008 but how many people came after me?"

Mo, a civil servant, is no longer working. She returned to her job following her operation but after reducing her hours more and more to help her keep her career alive, she had to accept medical retirement.

She said: "I am really, really, really angry. It is not just my mobility, my inability to go to the toilet and ending my career, there are personal things too – I can't have sex with my husband, it is too sore. Even though I am numb, I get pain in some situations, like a shooting pain. I never went on holiday for years because of the pain and it is all because of him. It is really, really important this inquiry gets started next year... The Scottish Government has a track record of saying things and not doing things but it is so important we get answers."

Jules Rose, 55, from Kinross in Perthshire, is another of Eljamel's victims and has campaigned to bring his deeds to light. It is thanks to her and other campaigners that the Scottish Government agreed to a public inquiry. Jules should have had a brain tumour removed by Eljamel but, instead, the disgraced surgeon removed a tear duct and lied that he had removed 99 per cent of her tumour. He had to do a second operation to remove the entire tumour.

Jules said: "We will be heading into a fifth month since the inquiry was announced soon. We are already running out of patience. The chair must be appointed and, as well as the public inquiry, we are still waiting for word on the 1 to 1 patient reviews. It is imperative that the government rapidly appoints the chairman. A chair was supposed to be appointed in a timely fashion. We need to get the ball rolling in order to have the redress for patients who desperately need it. Enough is enough."

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Lawyer Elizabeth Rose, founder of LM Medilaw, represents about 120 former patients of Eljamel's, some of whom are in very poor health and anxious to see progress on the inquiry. She said: "Our clients have been campaigning tirelessly for years and deserve to know the anticipated timeframe for its commencement. There are understandably feelings of uncertainty around the process and meaningful engagement with the patients will allow for transparency, and ensure patient's voices are truly being listened to."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said the process to appoint a chair for the public inquiry is "ongoing". She added: "Once appointed, the terms of reference will be developed and further details will be shared once these are agreed. We are now at the stage where discussions have taken place and are underway with candidates identified by the Lord President. Discussions are also under way to take forward the independent clinical review of individual cases of former patients of Sam Eljamel for those former patients who would like to participate."

Vivienne Aitken